Deuteronomy 5:12

12 'Observe the {Sabbath day} to make it holy, [just] as Yahweh your God has commanded you.

Deuteronomy 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 12,13. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it
Or observe it, by setting it apart as a time of natural rest, and for the performance of holy and religious exercises; see ( Exodus 20:8 ) , where the phrase is a little varied, "remember the sabbath day to keep it holy"; it having been instituted before:

as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee;
not at Sinai only, for the same might then have been observed of all the rest of the commands, but before the giving of the law, at the first of the manna; see ( Exodus 16:23 ) .

Deuteronomy 5:12 In-Context

10 but showing loyal love to thousands of [those who] love me and of [those who] keep my commandments.

11 'You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for [a] worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who uses his name for [a] worthless purpose.

12 'Observe the {Sabbath day} to make it holy, [just] as Yahweh your God has commanded you.

13 Six days you shall work, and you shall do all [of] your work,

14 but the seventh day [is] [a] Sabbath unto Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, or your son, or your daughter, or your slave, or your slave woman, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your domestic animals, or your [resident] alien who [is] in your {towns}, so that your slave and your slave woman may rest as you [rest].

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "the day of the Sabbath"
• [b] Or "to sanctify it"